


A Dog is a Man's Best Friend (and also a force for fate)

by Impossiblefangirl0632



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Autumn, Dog BB-8, F/M, First Dates, Inspired by 101 Dalmatians "First Meeting" Scene, Time Skips, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-30
Updated: 2020-03-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:48:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23396533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Impossiblefangirl0632/pseuds/Impossiblefangirl0632
Summary: Ben is dog-sitting for Poe and everything is going fine until BB sees a rabbit and runs off. Rey finds a muddy, but happy dog and takes him home with her. She's going to turn him into the shelter, she really is but before she can she runs into a very stressed, very annoyed Ben who accuses her of dognapping.Part of the Writing Den's Moodboard Inspiration event
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 19
Kudos: 102
Collections: Reylo Moodboard Inspiration





	A Dog is a Man's Best Friend (and also a force for fate)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sidsaid](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sidsaid/gifts).



> Moodboard by [sidsaid](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sidsaid/pseuds/sidsaid)

Ben looked at his watch for the fourth time in two minutes.

“Poe, you’re going to miss your flight”

His long time friend and now neighbor ignored his in favor of continuing to say goodbye to his beloved dog.

“You be good for Ben.” Poe cooed in that ridiculous baby voice people used when talking to dogs, “Daddy’s gonna miss you so much!” With a final head scratch, the dog licked Poe’s face and whined when he stood and picked up his bag.

Ben rolled his eyes and went out onto the porch. Poe followed behind him shortly bidding the dog a final farewell through the crack in the door.

“I hope this girl you’re flying across the country for likes dogs or you may have an issue,” Ben quipped as he pulled out of Poe’s driveway.

“Kaydell loves dogs,” Poe gushed.

Ben’s plan worked, Poe spent the rest of the drive chattering excitedly about his girlfriend and his proposal plans. Not once did he bring up Ben’s single status, something he had managed to do in nearly every conversation since he started dating Kaydell.

Poe had finally realized how late he was, when Ben pulled up to drop-off Poe was out of the car before it had stopped fully. He yelled over his shoulder just before the door slammed shut.

“Be good to my dog Ben!”  
___

“Poe’s gonna kill me…”

Ben was panting when he bent over, exhausted with shaky knees that wouldn’t stay still under his hands. He couldn’t run anymore. Poe’s stupid dog had led him on wild goose chase through the park after spotting a rabbit.

The retriever had spotted a rabbit maybe a dozen yards away and bolted off with enough force that the cheap plastic buckle collar broke. This left Ben hanging onto a loose leash, the broken collar dangling sadly from the end.

Ben ran after the animals but couldn’t follow fast enough and soon lost track of them. After half an hour of fruitless searching and calling for BB Ben had to give up for the night. It had gotten dark and even if BB was still in this ridiculously huge park Ben wouldn’t be able to find him until morning.

He left the park feeling the worst friend in the world and just hoped that the dog would remember the route back home. When there was no excitable dog waiting for him on Poe’s porch Ben’s spirits sank even lower.

\-----

The night was cool, borderline cold. Rey, who was still used to Arizona’s heat, shivered in her thin hoodie. Finn had warned her that she would need to buy warmer clothes but she didn’t have the money then, still didn’t. She wrapped her arms around herself and trudged on down the dirt shortcut through the densely wooded park. If she got home by midnight then she could get 5 hours of sleep before she had to wake up for her morning shift at the cafe, then to class, then the garage for her second 6-hour shift of the day, and then she had homework after that…

A rustling of leaves caught her attention. She peered in the dim moonlight at the group of shrubs just off the path, they were too low to be hiding a human but she was still on her guard.

A dog’s whine came from the shrubs and her worry abated to be replaced with concern for the poor thing. Stepping off the path she moved some of the spiky branches out of the way to reveal a dirty and disheveled looking dog that might be a golden retriever. It was hard to tell in the dim light and with all the mud caked on the poor thing’s fur.

“Hello sweet thing…” She reached in a hand slowly and let the dog sniff it. He gave it a tentative lick. Rey took that as acceptable and scratched his ears a bit, his tail started to wag happily and Rey was pleased when he stood up and jumped out of the shrubs.

“You weren’t stuck then, what were you doing in that bush?”

She took a second look at where he’d been sitting and had to stifle a laugh. A sizable rabbit hole was directly underneath where the dog had been.

“Did the mean old rabbit get away from you?” She stepped back to the path and bent down to give the dog a proper head scratch, “Where’s your collar boy?” The dog, of course, didn’t answer her. He just continued to smile and wag his tail.

Rey looked around in case the owner was nearby but it was nearly midnight and the park was deserted. Her new friend had likely been missing for a few hours but there wasn’t much Rey could do about it now.

She hesitated, teetering on the edge of a decision, she didn’t have much room, Rose might be annoyed but she couldn’t just leave him out here.

“I’ll take you to the shelter tomorrow, see if you have a chip but I guess for tonight you’re coming home with me.”

They got to Rey’s thankfully pet-friendly apartment without incident. Getting the dog clean, was another matter entirely. One extremely muddy bathtub later, Good Boy, who’s temporary name might have to change after she finished cleaning up the water that had gotten everywhere, was clean and dry.

Rey gave him a bit of leftover chicken from the day before while she ate her own late-night dinner of a microwaved potato and then finally it was time to sleep. After looking into his puppy dog eyes for too long she gave in,

“Fine, jump up,” He wagged his tail happily and jumped up and circled a few times before laying down next to Rey.

“I’ve never had a dog before…” she said wistfully, his fur was soft and soothing. She dropped off to sleep secretly hoping that she’d be able to keep him, even if it was impractical.

\----  
Three days had passed with no sign of BB-8 and Ben felt completely dejected. Poe would be back the day after tomorrow and Ben would have to tell him he’d lost his precious dog. He’d done everything he could possibly think of, he’d reported him lost to the local animal shelter and police station, had even put up fliers with no results.

He went back to the park several times a day, just to check. This was his third time wandering the paths today. He’d gotten off work early and was determined to walk around the whole park when he heard a familiar bark behind him.

He whirled around afraid that it would be a different dog yet again.

“BB!” Ben squatted down and held out his arms letting the dog tackle him. “I’ve been so worried! Where have you been you dumb dog?” He aggressively ruffled his floppy ears. He had a beat-up old leash clipped to his collar, he must have run off from someone. Someone had been taking him for a walk. Why would someone be taking a lost dog for a walk? Unless...

He missed the sound of someone running and panting but looked up when a crisp British accent filled the air.

“I’m so sorry! He’s usually so well behaved…”

Ben looked up and tried to speak but he couldn’t because the moment he laid eyes on the speaker his brain stopped working.

This woman was gorgeous, her voice, her eyes, her freckles… And she was also trying to take BB with her.

Ben must have missed something she said.

“Wait hang on, this is my dog,” He stood quickly and sidestepped to block her path, “Well not my dog but I’m watching him and,” He squinted at the leash in her hands “Did you steal my friend’s dog?” he accused.

He drew himself up to his full, towering height and glowered down at her. He’d been going crazy looking for BB for days. Why hadn’t this woman reported him found if she didn’t mean to keep him? The more Ben thought about it the angrier he got.

Her smile instantly disappeared to be replaced with a fierce glare.

“Did I steal your friend's dog?” She repeated with deadly calm, “No, I did not.”

“Then why is he with you?” He snapped.

His initial anger started to cool because of the lack of defensiveness from her. He realized he’d been out of line and took a steadying breath. He let all the built-up worry over the last three days permeate his voice when he asked “How long has he been with you? Is he okay?”

She must have heard it too because she relaxed and explained, “I found him curled up over a rabbit hole completely covered in mud. I work during business hours so I haven’t been able to take him to the shelter to check if he’s chipped yet. Do you have proof I should give him to you? He’s a very sweet dog, I want to make sure he’s going back to the right person.”

Ben sighed in relief and dug an extra flyer out of his bag. He handed it to her and pointed out the number, “if you call that you’ll see it’s my phone.”

While she pulled out her phone he continued speaking, “I apologize for my rudeness. I haven’t really slept the last couple of nights. Poe loves this little guy like life itself and would hate me forever if I’d lost him.”

She looked up at him with a kind smile that reached her eyes, “No hard feelings, I’m very protective over lost and abandoned things,” He noticed her smile dimmed a bit as though she was recalling unpleasant memories, “I could see myself doing the same thing you did.”

Ben’s ringtone interrupted the silence of the lingering moment. He hastily pulled it from his pocket and showed it to her. Satisfied that it was her number she ended the call and pocketed her phone.

Ben couldn’t help but feel bad at the sight of tears forming in her eyes. She bent down to BB and pet his head tenderly. The dog wagged his tail in response and licked her hand.

“Your person came back for you,” she murmured. Ben turned away slightly to give her a bit of privacy, he had a feeling he wasn’t supposed to have heard that.

Ben didn’t want to say goodbye. Something about this woman made him want to stay, get to know her better. She had held her own and called him on his bull, she obviously cared deeply for BB, and the fact that she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen didn’t hurt either.

She stood after another few moments, surreptitiously wiping tears from her eye with the back of her hand. “You can take the leash if you need it,” She offered it to him with a calloused hand.

He hesitantly took it, surprised at her kindness, “Thank you. I’ll get this back to you-” She waved her hand dismissively.

“Oh it’s okay it will only go back in a drawer. I got it for a short stint as a dog walker and haven’t used it since.”

He fiddled with the leash, debating whether or not to say what was on his mind, afraid to come across as a creep, but also desperately not wanting the conversation to end.

He was silent for too long. She said some generic ‘this is awkward and I need to be somewhere else’ polite goodbye and turned to leave.

“Wait!” He pulled his hand back before he actually touched her, his face heating up in embarrassment.

“Sorry, uh, would it-” He gulped and chided himself internally that he was a grown man and this shouldn’t be that hard, “Can I take you out to dinner?”

Her eyes widened slightly and her lips parted in a comical little O.

“I mean, as a thank you, for- uh, for taking care of BB” He stammered, not daring to look her in the eyes. He rubbed the back of his head and shuffled his feet awkwardly. He chanced a peek at her face and was surprised and pleased that she seemed a little disappointed. Did she not want it to be just as a thank you either?

“I have work every night for the rest of the week,”

Ben’s heart sank.

“But,” she offered a shy smile, “I’m free tonight?”  
“Oh!” His plummeting heart lept back up “Tonight works for me.” BB’s tail started hitting him in the shin, reminding Ben of his presence.

Rey followed his gaze down at the dog, “Oh.”

They realized at the same time that they couldn’t take him with them.

“If you’d be comfortable, I could make dinner? Or we could get takeout or something?” Ben offered tentatively.

She considered for a moment, she must have thought of something because she had to bite back a laugh.

“What?” Ben huffed.

“Sorry, sorry,” She let out a chuckle, “I just realized we never told each other our names.”

Ben’s ears must have turned bright red and he was grateful for his long hair. “Oh,” it was his turn to laugh. He held out his free hand, “I’m Ben.”

She shook his hand, “Rey.” She smiled warmly, “And I’ll never say no to a home-cooked meal.”

\---

They chatted about their jobs and interests on the walk back to Ben’s house. They discovered they shared a love of old movies and of autumn. Rey loved it for the changing colors, something she’d experienced only partially before moving across the country. Ben’s reasons tended towards the more melancholic, he loved the way the world grew quiet as the business of summer faded into winter’s calm.

As they approached his house Ben let go of BB’s leash and they both laughed at the dog's antics when he bounded up the front steps and turned in excited circles on the welcome mat.

Rey shot a quick text off to Rose letting her know where she was and followed Ben inside. She didn’t really know what she expected but this wasn’t it. There was barely anything to make the space feel lived in, generic lifeless art hung on the walls, there were no knickknacks scattered  
on bookshelves, no magnets on the fridge.

“How long have you lived here?”

Ben shrugged, “Two years? I travel a lot for work so I’m not here for very long at any given time. Poe convinced me to buy this place after listening to me complain about not having anywhere to call home.”

Rey considered his words, reading between the lines. “You still don’t consider it home do you?”

Ben stilled momentarily, a paring knife hovering over a bundle of asparagus. “Is anywhere really home if you’re alone no matter where you go?”

In a brief moment of rare forwardness, Rey reached across the counter and took Ben’s free hand. “You’re not alone.”

“Neither are you.”  
\---  
One Year Later

Rey looped her arms around Ben’s neck and leaned into her new husband’s chest as they swayed to gentle music under the twinkling string lights. Their friends and family were watching them dance with a mixture of bright smiles and happy tears. Rey smiled into Ben’s shoulder not wanting to let Han know that she’d seen the telltale sheen of teary eyes.

When the song ended Ben pulled her in for a lingering kiss. They ignored Poe’s catcall but broke apart as their first mutual friend made his presence known by barking happily.

Those who knew how Ben and Rey met laughed. The new couple bent to scratch the retriever’s ears, careful not to step on Rey’s skirt.

“We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you.” Ben murmured.

“Aren’t we lucky you’re a terrible dog sitter?” Rey teased.

Ben nudged her with his elbow playfully. “We’ll see if I’m as bad of a dog owner.”

Rey’s eyes widened with joy, “We’re getting a dog?”

“As soon as we get home.”

Rey kissed him tenderly, “I love you.”

“I know.”

They left the reception with Han and Leia still heckling them for stealing their lines.


End file.
